Monday, August 28, 2006

One day Kenn brought guacamole and a bowl of crunchy, puffy star things for lunch. They were so good I wanted to make some, but he said they were from Mexico. Shruti to the rescue... she informed me that they had a similiar thing called Fryums at the Indian food store.

I got a bag and fried them up. They start off looking like little bits of pasta and then puff up to three times their size in hot oil. It was exciting! Like the opposite of shrinky dinks!

are they like shrimp chips? those also start out small and almost plastic-like, pink, white, and other colors. when fried they expand to a styrofoam-like texture that can be very tasty or disturbing, depending on one's mood!

You can also find a similiar item in the asian markets. You can find them in half dollar sizes and in a variety of colors or just plain white. But when you fry them they puff up like pork rinds. They often remind me of shrimp chips as far as flavor.

What you are referring to are a Mexican snack known as "Duritos" which you can find at Mexgrocer.com

Here is a blurb I found on the internet: Pork-Like Duritos

You may sometimes spot, at a Mexican street vendor or snack shop, a small bag of something that looks a lot like fried pork skins in the shape of little wheels. These are not fried pork skin. These are duritos, a snack of fried flour made to look and feel like fried pork skins. They are called "duritos" because they are "duro" - hard. You pop some hot sauce and lemon juice in the bag with the duritos, shake it all up, and eat. They're delicious, all light and crispy - sort of like a more subtle proto version of Cheetos. Duritos are, confusingly, also sometimes referred to as chicharrones, the name for actual fried pork skin. They're actually sold as a substitute for real chicharrones, which can frequently be expensive and hard to find, even in Mexico.

You'll also find ready-to-fry duritos in the bulk section of many Mexican supermarkets. Get your frying oil heated up, and throw 'em in. They'll puff up and turn golden in a few seconds. You want to get them out as soon as they're golden, before they start to burn.

Ahh... keropok! That's what we call it in Asia. You can get prawn (udang), vegetable (sayur), lobster, and my current favourite is bitter nut (belinjau). If you can get your hands on some belinjau keropok, you can eat it two ways: brushed with honey, or using lime juice as a dip.

Those look just like duritos but in color! I'd never seen colored duriots before. Or duritos that small. They're like chicharrones but made of flour and not pork skin. My grandmother used to make big batches and we'd eat them with hot sauce and lime. I'd also never heard of eating them with guacamole. That's what tostadas were always for. I can't say that I'll try it because I hate guacamole.